Review: NO BAD DEED by Heather Chavez

5+ Stars!

No shortage of villains in this brilliant mystery! I  literally could not stop reading and in fact stayed up LATE because I refused to fall asleep UNTIL I knew the outcome. Like a python,  the plot twisted around and in on itself so many times! My total absorption reminded me of my experience reading the novels of Robyn Harding,  who also pens behind-the-scenes tales of seemingly perfect marriages and families,  and covert secrets and villainies. NO BAD DEED is a  "what you see is not what you get" tale and an amazingly engrossing novel. Ms. Chavez, please write more. Quickly!

Review: AVENGE THE DEAD

This Scottish police procedural written by a former criminal attorney is bookended with a tremendous reader's hook and a stirring "race against time" conclusion,  but for me the interior pace was just too slow. The novel piles mystery upon mystery,  until the police don't know which way to turn, and there's more than one truly evil villain; but the pace felt just too slow for me and left me indifferent. 

Review: THE NEXT GIRL by Tom Fowler

5 Stars 

Two quick personal notes:

I read every title by Tom Fowler, and that includes every installment of the C. T. Ferguson's Investigations. I'm always satisfied,  and THE NEXT GIRL is no exception. However--this cover is terrifying. Sorry, Mr. Fowler: it sets off all sorts of horrific paths in my imagination. 

THE NEXT GIRL is mighty twisty, forking off repeatedly in directions I didn't expect or see approaching, which made for page-turning suspense, while optimism warred with cynicism both in the reader's mind and in the hearts of dedicated investigators,  both private and police. C. T. continues to be an adorable Feckless Hero, with a mountain of integrity for a heart and a precious snarky sense of humor (just as often directed at himself).

Review: I KNOW WHERE YOU SLEEP by Alan Orloff

4 Stars 

Some surprising twists in this mystery! Unexpected revelations and character Denouement. I liked the balance between well-intentioned private investigator Anderson West (himself a Feckless Hero) and his sociopathic sister Carrie, always bent on vigilante justice (and with her own good reasons). The plot kept me puzzling as well.

Review: VIGIL BLACK by L. V. Pires (The Waiting Mortuary Book 2)

3 Stars

VIGIL BLACK  is Book 2 in L. V. Pires' WAITING MORTUARY Series, following THE WAITING MORTUARY and preceding DEATH WATCH. The author weaves in backstory but still I recommend reading the Series in consecutive order in order to get the flavor of it.

"Waiting mortuaries" were a late 19th century custom in Europe,  to ease the widespread phobia of premature burial.  In this Series,  the concept becomes a bizarre killing ground for modern-day psychosis. 

Review: THE JUNE BOYS by Court Stevens

5 Stars

Engrossing,  an extremely twisty Mystery that kept this reader guessing throughout,  worrying about the victims, anxious for the survivors and loved ones. Not what I would have expected from a Librarian,  but riveting, painful, heartwrenching.  So much in this novel depends on Trust; life can't continue without it.  The mystery behind the abductions is like a Gordian Knot: impossible to unravel.  Internally I kept screaming,  "Why? Why would ANYONE do this?" It didn't fit the "normal " criteria [hostage, ransom, sexual predation, revenge]. How complex is this Mystery!

Review: THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED by Kody Keplinger

5 Stars +!

Extraordinarily good, and I readily devoured it and have set out to look for more by this author.  This is one of my first approaches to this terrifying topic,  one that should never have occurred once, but which seems to have mutated into a frequent "pastime " for certain mentally-disordered individuals and others whose rampant anger overflows and targets not just those who anger but Innocents in the wrong place. 

Among the best aspects of THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED (which I purchased based on reading the sample) is different characters' approach to the Event.  Thankfully neither I nor anyone I've known has ever been in a similar situation,  yet I've often pondered the emotions and mindsets of the "survivors" and of their loved ones. So to watch the character evolutions  undergone in the aftermath is amazing and fascinating. 

I have to caution: one of the strong focuses in this book revolves around religion,  around "who" is qualified and acceptable to be "religious;" and the assumptions and conclusions of some number of secondary characters (of primary characters too) may upset or offend or trigger some readers.

Also,  several of the characters qualify as "Divergent " in terms of Disability/Ethnicity/Orientation/Religion/Afterlife Beliefs-Nonbeliefs.

My only point of dissension with THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED is that the author seems to have a predilection for "telegraphing," which creates temporal cliffhangers at the end of chapters. In real life, unless we are clairvoyants, we don't get "telegraphing" of future events or changes; so I'd prefer to do without it in fiction, for the most part. Let me discover for myself as the story unfolds. 

Review: THE RUINS by Mat Osman

5 Stars

Back in March 2019 I read a novella about a disappeared rock band, LUCIFER SAM. I mention this only because both books gave me such an astonishing view into the what-lies-beneath-the-band, or what you don't see onstage.  THE RUINS is fascinating, and not only because of the band [Remote/Control] and its aftermath,  but also characterizations,  character arc, plotting, mystery...it's also wonderful and kept me riveted. I finished feeling as if I know these characters, in most cases better than they know/knew themselves.

Review: LEAGUE OF ORBIS NOVUS

3 Stars

Decades ago a popular TV commercial posited the puzzler: "Is it Live? Or is it Memorex?" In THE LEAGUE OF ORBIS NOVUS (as well as in critical thinking real life) the question now is:

"It's on the Internet! So--is it fact, or is it Hoax?" One normal "everyman" reporter (not a thrill junkie) sets out to discover the "truth" about an alarming Internet announcement.

Review: THE BURNING GIRL by Mark Billingham

4 Stars 

THE BURNING GIRL is Book 4 in author Mark Billingham's DI TOM THORNE Series.  Appropriately named, DI Thorne is "a thorn in the side" of many, including his superiors, colleagues,  as well as criminals; and occasionally the reader as well. He is not a character I've been able to warm up to, nor are there many in this mystery to whom I did, except possibly Carol, retired DI, assigned to cold cases, who can never forget one particular case, her first; and pathologist Phil Hendricks,  "a real character. " (smile)

This is my first exposure to Thorne.  I've seen a lot of praise, but I am unsure as to whether I will try to continue this Series: maybe not soon.

Review: NO GOOD MEN by Thea Mcalistair

5 Special Stars

In this beautiful LGBT historical mystery set in 1934 Connecticut, aspiring pulp writer Alex Dawson just needs to catch a break: at publication,  at steady employment,  at a relationship whose very nature is soundly condemned by law, church, and custom.  Alex is a sweetheart of a protagonist, beyond feckless hero and into his own category of naive higher-ground mentality. When in the space of a few days, his mentor is killed along with the Mayor for whom Alex is a bodyguard, Alex falls for a gangster,  then the killings ramp up; soon it's clear that the killer is skillful, clever, and elusive. 

Rife with the post-bootlegging culture of organized crime on the East Coast and with a moral culture totally antagonistic to same-sex involvement, along with subtle explications of classism and socioeconomics, NO GOOD MEN is a fascinating Series debut. I received it originally from NetGalley, and enjoyed it so much I purchased it. 

Review: WATCH YOU BURN by Amanda Searcy

5 Special Stars!!

WATCH ME BURN is exceptional! I was riveted from the very beginning.  Ms. Searcy develops character in such a way that we simultaneously empathize but also ponder their attitudes and personalities.  In other words,  just as in real life, when we can't presume to truly know anybody, including ourselves. 

The writing impels; the author's handling of the emotional roller-coaster of numerous characters,  the secrets, suspense,  and mystery; the big issues (abuse, abandonment,  arson, pregnancy,  emotional and psychological disorders,  issues suffered by the homeless population); all combine to a story I couldn't put down. Generally I read multiple books simultaneously but not so here: my full concentration focused on WATCH ME BURN. 

Review: THE BURNING by Laura Bates

5 Stars

Reading this novel was a traumatic experience; one doesn't have to have suffered in these particular venues to hurt in sympathy with the protagonist. Any woman, girl, child, and any man with a Sensitive heart will surely find Anna's tribulations extraordinary (and those of the historical villager Maggie as well). Strongly written, compelling, horrifying, THE BURNING powerfully delineates societal double standards, both now and in the 16th century.

Review: ONE DAY YOU'LL BURN by Joseph Schneider

5 Stars

Astounding. I can only remember five books affecting me as this one did: two historical,  one fantasy,  two contemporary. Let me specify up front that the reader requires an extraordinarily strong stomach and heart. The gore level is elevated,  but I reiterate that it is not here for the sake of Gore--this is not self-indulgence, nor Splatterpunk. This is historical Evil, legendary Evil, contemporary Narcissism,  arrogance, and Evil. In the hands of some other author,  this might be gross-out gore for gore's sake; but with this author,  and a protagonist standing on this Higher Ground of moral excellence,  the story is elevated far above crass violence.

Review: MURDER IN THE MOUNTAINS: A MIA & ARIANNA MYSTERY by Alyssa Johnson

3 Stars

MURDER IN THE MOUNTAINS is the first in a new Romantic Suspense series by author Alyssa Johnson. Southern Belle Mia and Lake Placid, NY native Arianna are opposite in temperament and appearance, but are total best friends. For a book signing for her second thriller,  Arianna brings Mia to Lake Placid. Unfortunately the visit isn't serene,  but it is dangerous and suspenseful.